The signal, the call from mountaintop to mountaintop, and communication from alpine pasture to alpine pasture constitute the origins of yodelling and the alphorn.

Tens of thousands of people are flocking to Davos – not for the gathering of the world’s political and business elite at the annual WEF summit – but for the national yodelling festival. The pageant hasn’t lost its appeal over the decades. (SRF/swissinfo.ch)

Alpine shepherds developed yodelling as a way of gathering cattle and to communicate over moderate distances in the mountains.

The national yodelling festival is held every three years in a different Swiss city. The 2014 edition, in Davos from July 3 to 6, is organised by the Swiss Yodelling Association and is the highlight of the year for fans and participants.

Throughout the festival, artists from all over the country – and from overseas – descend on Davos. They include yodellers, flag throwers and alphorn players. This year’s edition is expected to attract 180,000 visitors, fewer than the previous two editions in Lucerne and Interlaken. This may be because for the first time the festival is taking place in canton Graubünden, where yodelling is less popular than in many other parts of the country.